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Monday, September 01, 2008

Don't Be A Boob

The title of this blog has nothing to do with the content, I just wanted to get your attention. My brother says that if McCain wins he’s leaving the country. There are some people who would say good riddance—not me or my mother, but some people. They would be terribly mistaken if they thought he should go elsewhere. He is not only a ‘personality’ on Bainbridge Island in Washington State, he is also a small business owner, (a bicycle shop) a father and a husband whose wife is a community activist. (My sister-in-law, Els, is Dutch but she has an American passport, and she chose to make a life in this country, and has worked very hard for that life to be successful). They care about the environment, (no paper towels in their house) their community, and the country. They have suffered the consequences of the George Bush Presidencies, and they don’t want eight more years. They have the luxury of being able to go somewhere else where there are friends and family, but what do the rest of us do? (Actually, I said if we all move to Europe, their health care system would pay for mom’s medical care, which was kind of like when I thought Mom should get arrested and then she would go to prison, have a bed, three squares, and all her health issues covered). But seriously folks, what do the rest of us do?

And speaking of serious, what does Biden do in a debate with Palin? First of all, he needs to have at least one woman on the debate preparation team. We cannot forget what happened in New Hampshire with Hillary Clinton. Women around the state hated it when they perceived the male candidates were ‘picking’ on her, and even Republican women came out in force to declare as Democrats and vote for her. Joe Biden cannot be “too smart.” And I respect Senator Biden but like many Senators they want everyone to know how smart they are. He doesn’t have to dumb down, but he does have to talk about the issues in a way that doesn’t seem condescending or he will lose the debate and, like in ’88, Obama will lose the election. (Lloyd Bengtsen won the debate but appeared to bully Dan Quayle - “Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy...” and eventually lost to Bush I.)

There’s lot’s of stuff out there about Palin. The pregnant daughter, who chooses to keep the baby (a choice she doesn’t want the rest of us to have -- and she will marry the sperm donor), the controversy about a firing, and the issue about whether or not she’s qualified. But let’s start with the question of motherhood. She has five kids. The last one, who she knew had Down syndrome, she chose to deliver at a hospital without a neonatal care unit. She has five children, who she will leave to go on the road for a Presidential campaign. How is that valuing your family? All of this needs to be left out of a debate. Any controversy about using her position to strong arm a public official into leaving his office because he didn't fire her brother-in-law. This is small town politics, who cares? This should not be talked about in a debate. And is she qualified? This requires a new paragraph.

The Republicans are doing a great job spinning her qualifications. As Governor she is the Commander in Chief of the Alaskan National Guard. She got her passport in 2006 to go to Kuwait to have lunch with some of the Alaskan troops serving abroad. Certainly that qualifies her to understand US foreign policy. And she was a soccer mom. There is no one more determined to destroy the opposition than a soccer mom. She took on the Alaskan leadership by selling the state airplane on E-bay, and after voting in favor of the 'bridge to nowhere,' changed her mind and was against it. If that’s not being a courageous reformer I don’t know what is. She is an expert in energy. It’s not exactly like understanding energy policy, but she knows that it’s foolish for environmentalists to make a big deal about drilling for oil on 2000 acres of an arctic wilderness preserve when there are 2 million acres available—really, what’s the big deal? And energy is the strength she brings to the ticket. Biden cannot ridicule this position because there are so many people who believe this demonstrates good sense.

So what does Biden do? He just answers the questions in a thoughtful and reasonable way and he disappoints the expectations of the Republicans who think he’s going to go after her. He doesn’t have to do anything to prove she shouldn’t be on the ticket. He doesn’t need to point out her lack experience and skills. He just has to keep quiet enough to let Palin be Palin (we know she’s not Hillary), and that should be enough to jar the American public into realizing, depending on their vote, that she could become their reality. And by the way, in case you are curious, let me introduce you to the (possibly) next Vice President’s husband: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlwpg_QsYnc.We're just sayin.... Iris

Okay, here's a scenario--unlikely perhaps absent new revelations--but a scenario nevertheless. At some point soon Palin withdraws, with blasts by her and the campaign that she was a wonderful, highly-qualified candidate driven out by the left-wing, liberal media. At that point, the right wing and evangelicals are outraged at everything Democratic and become totally committed to the McCain campaign, even though Palin's now gone. So McCain turns to a safe choice, like Romney, and his campaign gets the benefit of both Palin and her right-wing following (but without the inexperience drag)and a more experienced white guy. Criticisms that he acted impulsively by picking her are rebutted by statements that she was crucified by MSNBC and the New York Times. Perfect. You almost think that Rove cooked this up, and it's happening exactly as he hoped.

Update: Having now seen Palin in action, I'm not so certain about her withdrawal due to the left/wing/liberal/media/bashing/thing. Seems she's served notice that that (I hate a double 'that') ain't gonna happen. Exciting times are upon us!